李约瑟中国科技史研究动因新考

New Exploration Concerning the Motivation of Needham's Research on the History of Chinese Science and Technology

李约瑟为什么会研究中国科技史,一直以来国内外学界流行的解读为:鲁桂珍是直接的诱因。笔者通过对二十世纪三十年代英国科学的社会研究兴起的考察,认为,李约瑟之研究中国科技史,有深刻的时代背景。自1931年以后英国科学界开展的科学的社会关系的调查和研究,应该是主要动因之一,而四十年代李约瑟来到中国主持中英科学合作馆,则最终促成了他转向中国科技史研究。"李约瑟难题"第一部分是李约瑟站在西方科学立场上提出的,它极有可能形成于1937年"科学及其社会关系委员会"初成期间,"难题"本身推动了他对中国的追踪;第二部分则是他站在中国古代科技的立场,在"二战"期间深入了解中国的科学与社会后提出。至迟在1945年,他已对"难题"的答案进行了深入思考。

Why did Needham study the history of Chinese science and technology? A popular interpretation in domestic andinternational academic circles is: LU Guizhen is a direct incentive. By carefully checking on the historical materials about the socialstudy of science rising in UK in the 1930s, the writer puts forward a new idea about it, that is, Needham's determination has aprofound background. The surveys and researches on the social relations of science taken by the British scientific community since1931 should be one of the main motivations. In 1940s Needham came to China and took the chair of the Sino-British ScienceCooperation Center in Chongqing, which, in the end, made him change his research domain to the history of Chinese science andtechnology. The first part of 'Needham Puzzle' was raised from the standpoint of Western science, and it was most probably formedat the very beginning of the 'Science and Its Social Relations Committee', and the Puzzle itself drove him forward to China; Whilethe second part was raised from the standpoint of ancient Chinese science and technology, it depended on an in-depth insight intoChinese science and society. No later than 1945, he had carried a thorough thinking of the answer to his Puzzle.